'Another unacceptable delay': Eglinton Crosstown builder plans to sue TTC, Metrolinx says

The consortium of four companies building Toronto's Eglinton Crosstown plans to "litigate and stop working" with the TTC, which is set to operate the light rail line, according to Ontario's provincial transit agency.

In a statement Tuesday, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster called the pending litigation "another unacceptable delay tactic" by Crosslinx Transit Solutions, the consortium that has spent more than a decade constructing the problem-plagued mega project.

Verster accused Crosslinx of "looking for new ways to make financial claims" and said the consortium's behaviour "continues to be disappointing."

CBC Toronto has reached out to Metrolinx for more clarity on what litigation could mean for the future of the Eglinton Crosstown, as well as to Crosslinx for comment.

The statement does not elaborate on what may have prompted Crosslinx to sue the TTC specifically.

This latest development comes after Verster said last month that the project is being delayed by more than 260 quality control issues and there is no credible timeline for its completion.

Those problems include track that was laid in 2021 outside of Metrolinx's specifications — an error that is only now being fixed by Crosslinx, Verster said at the time.

The 25-stop, 19-kilometre line was first supposed to open in 2020, but that was delayed until 2021. Metrolinx and the consortium then settled on a fall 2022 opening, a deadline that again passed with much of the testing, commissioning and safety work still left undone.

Internal Metrolinx documents obtained by CBC Toronto last year show that the budget for the project has ballooned to nearly $13 billion, a figure that includes 30-year maintenance costs. Still, it is more than double initial estimates.

This is not the first time Crosslinx has sued its partners in the Eglinton Crosstown project.

The consortium previously took Metrolinx to court in 2020, arguing that the COVID pandemic constituted an emergency that should require the two sides to renegotiate terms of their agreement, including costs and opening dates. A judge ultimately sided with Crosslinx, allowing the consortium to recoup some $134 million in unexpected costs.

In his latest statement, Verster said Metrolinx will "defend this latest legal challenge" and that the transit agency is already "withholding significant payments for poor performance."